Garcìa

chapter 13

Alicestar opened the door for Valentina and she entered the house. It was still the same beautiful home she remembered. There had been a few small changes here and there but overall, it was the same.

"Is that you, Alicestar?" a female voice called from the kitchen, one Valentina immediately recognised as Maggie's.

"Yes, I have someone with me." he called back before leading Valentina with him into the kitchen.

"Really? Who is i-" she started saying but stopped when she was turned towards the two.

"Hi Mags." Valentina said with tears in her eyes.

"Valentina!" Maggie said while sobbing, running over to Valentina and hugging her tightly. "Oh, I can't believe it."

"I'm here, I'm okay." Valentina said.

"We have to call Leo downstairs." Maggie said once they broke apart.

"I'll go get him." Alicestar said before leaving the kitchen.

"Oh look how beautiful you've grown. Just like your mom." Maggie said while the two of them had tears in their eyes and on their cheeks.

"Why did I have to come to the kitchen?" a voice grumbled from behind Valentina.

She turned towards the voice and found her teenage nephew. No longer the small five year old. No, he was at least six feet, just like his father, and his sticky arms had grown into muscular ones.

"V-val?" he said, unsure, his voice cracking.

"Hi, Leo." she said before he ran over to her and they hugged each other like their lives depended on it.

"How are you here?" he asked, tears falling down his face.

"I'll tell some of it during dinner. I would very much like to take a shower first, if I may." Valentina said when they broke apart.

"Off course, sweetheart. Leo will show you where everything is." Maggie said before leaving a kiss on Valentina's head.

Valentina smiled in thanks before following Leo up the stairs into a hallway. They walked towards the end before opening the door to the guest bedroom. They walked further and found a bathroom.

"There should be towels in that cabinet." Leo said while pointing to said cabinet.

"Thanks, Leo." she said with a smile.

"Off course, Val. I'm just across the hall if you need me." he said and she nodded with a smile.

She closed the door and locked it before undressing and stepping into the shower. She let the warm water wash away her worries and emotions before stepping out. She got dressed in the clothes Maggie had set out for her. They were old clothes of Valentina's mom and Maggie's. She smiled at herself in the mirror before walking out and making her way towards Leo's room.

"Are you okay, Leo?" a female voice asked, a bit muffled.

"Yeah, I guess, just a lot to process."

"Process what?" the same voice asked.

"I'll talk-" he started to respond but Valentina knocked just in time.

"Uhm, come in." he mumbled out.

Valentina smiled while shaking her head before going into his room. It was the typical teenage boy room. He smiled at her and she smiled in return. Her gaze went to his laptop and she saw a teenage girl on the screen with a confused face.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" she asked him.

"Uhm right yes. Ally, this is Valentina, my cousin. Val, this is Ally, my best friend." he introduced them.

Valentina came to sit beside him on his bed and waved to the girl.

"Oh my god, you're Valentina Garcìa. Holy shit. Why didn't you tell me she was back you asshole!" the girl said through the screen.

"Jesus, sorry. She just got back." Leo said.

"Yeah, why didn't you tell her?" Valentina followed along, with a smirk on her face.

"No, you're supposed to be on my side." he whined.

"I'm on my own side." Valentina replied.

"Oeh, I like it. Strong independent woman." Ally said to Valentina causing her to grin.

"Is she joining us tomorrow night?" Valentina asked Leo.

"What?" he asked her.

"The Garcìa gala." she elaborated.

"I'm not." Ally said while glaring at Leo.

"Leo!" Valentina said while slapping him on his shoulder.

"What?" he asked, throwing his hands up.

"You should have invited her, asshole." she told him. "I hereby invite you to the gala. I will sent someone to bring you here and we can get ready together. I have a few dress options so you can borrow a dress of mine." she told Ally while turning to her.

"Really?" Ally asked, hopeful.

"Off course, this dumbass just doesn't know how to ask a girl." she teased her nephew.

"I thought you would be on my side." he mumbled.

"It's okay, you're still my little DiCaprio." she said while taking him into a hug, causing Ally to laugh.

"I'm not little!" he exclaimed and struggled against her grip, although anybody could tell he loved having these moments again.

"Whatever." Valentina said.

"Dinner's ready!" Maggie yelled from downstairs.

"We gotta go, DiCaprio." she said to him. "Nice to meet you, Ally. Expect a car in front of your house at three-thirty." she then told Ally.

"I will, nice to meet you too. See you tomorrow." Ally responded happily.

Valentina smiled and waved goodbye before going downstairs. She went to the living room and was greeted by her uncle and aunt. Seconds later, Leo joined them. They all piled food onto their plate before starting to eat.

"You want to tell us what happened?" Maggie asked in a soft voice.

"I'll give you a summary." Valentina responded to which they all nodded.

And so she told them about Elijah kidnapping her from the hospital, beating her for answers, Rafael helping her escape, going to her grandparents, regaining clients, non-disclosure agreements, the deal with Rafael. Every important piece of information.

"I was wondering where all these old clients came from. But I will ruin Elijah Knight." Alicestar said once Valentina finished.

"I wanted them to go back to us because I want to restore the company to what it was. But I couldn't openly claim the company again or reveal myself because I knew Elijah would go after me. Rafael and I worked on a plan and the first step is me revealing myself tomorrow at the gala. We have enough on Elijah to bring him down but I need to secure my position first." she explained.

"I'll help you get settled in the company. If you want or need, I'll stay there to help you with the business." Alicestar offered.

"I would like that very much, thank you Alice." she said with a smile.

"Now, we should celebrate!" Maggie said with a big smile.

The four of them laughed before cheering and talking and laughing all night. Valentina felt good being back home.